Annunciator.



ADALBERT SCHMALZ & ALBAN SCHMALZ.

ANNUNCIATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APII.-3. 1914.

Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I. I

III

3% ses CoLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH Co.,w/ISHINGTON. DA c.

ADALBERT SCHMALZ & ALBAN SCHIVIALZ.

ANNUNCIATOR.

APPLICATION FILED Ama. |914.

v Patented Dea-14, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANuuRAPl-i C0..WASH|NGTDN, D. c.

ADALBERT SCHIVIALZ & ALBAN SCHIVIALZ.

ANNUNCI/won.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 3. 1914. v Patented Dec. 14, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

MLM.

COLUMBIA PLANoaRAPl-l cn..wAsHINuTON.-D. c.

lUllFl @Titi FiF..

ANNUNCIATR.

Application filed April 3, 1914.-.

To (all wko/m t may concern Be it known that We, ADALBER'D SorrMA'LZ and ALBAN SCHMALZ, citizens of the Fepublic of Brazil, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cool; and State of illinois, have invented a certain new and useful improve ment in finnunciators, of which the folloiving is a specification.

lhe essential object of this invention is to profide an annunciator of that type which is adapted to be placed `Within a street car or similar conveyance and which will indicate the names of streets or sta ions. rlheonames to be exposed to View are placed Scra'atum upon a fabric web, which can be advanced one step at a time each successive station is reached and passed, and the operation lof the apparatus is controlled by the motorman or a guard, Whose post of duty need not be at all `near the annunciatcr.

ln the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of theannunciator; Fig. 2 is a side elezfation, taken at a right angle to the view of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2, showing some of the parts in different positions from those depicted in Fie'. Q; Fig. 4l is a detail of the device for locking the web in place; Fig. 5 is a View looking downwardly from above in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6, Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7-7,' Fig.v 3; Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8, Figl; Fior. 9 a section on the line 9-*9, Fig. 10; Fig. 10 is a section on the line 10-10,. Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a section on the line 11 11, Fig. 8; and Fig. 12 is a section on the line 12- is, rig. ii.

rlibe web 1 of fabric-or other flexible material is wound upon spools or reels 2 and 3 (Fig. 8) and bears the names of streets or stations (Fig. 1), Which names are successively exposed in the proper order as the feeding mechanism is actuated, Rollers l and 5 are provided over which web 1 travels, said rollers being carried upon shafts G so mounted that such part or length of EES the web 1 as is exposed is kept stretchedV taut. is the car travels in one direction the web 1 is Wound upon spool Zand un- Wound from spool 3, but when the car travels in the opposite direction, the Web is `wound upon spool 3. As best shown in 1, tie feeding mechanism is duplicated upon each side of the machine,`one set of mechanism being adapted to Work in one Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 829,332.

direction, and the other set in the opposite direction.

The various movablepparts are supported upon a base l0 made of wood or other similar material which can be secured to the Wall of the car or conveyance and to this base frame two supporting framelilie memw bers 11 are attached, there being one of such members upon each side of the base. The base l() is secured in such way that the web 1 is presented to the view of the passengers inthe car, the passengers being able to see the annunciator as the same appears in Fig. 1 of the drawings. T he mechanism for actuating and feeding the web is preferably mounted upon the sides l1, the mechanism at the right of Fig. l being faced and geared so as to feed the web from bottom to top, and the mechanism at the left of Fig. 1 being adapted to feed the web from top to bottom. Since the mechanism at the left of Fig. 1 is substantially7 a duplicate of that at the right, it should be understood that there are two air cylinders 19., tivo piston rods 13, and so on, although for convenience of description, the singular number rather than the plural is hereinafter employed in describing the Web-feeding mechanism.

The cylinder' 12 within which the rod 13 reciprocates, is supported upon a bracket 11i secured to the base l0, and upon a bracket 15 secured to the side 1l. Compressed air from a suitable source ,of supply (not shown) is fed to said cylinder through the pipeV 16, and when the same enters said pipe 16, flowing toward the top (Figs. 2 and 3) the piston rod i3 is forcedv toward the top and each upward movement of the piston 13 is converted into a forward-feeding step of the Web 1. 'As previously stated, the Web 1 is adapted to be Wound upon spool 3 simultaneously as it is univound from spool 2, and vice versa, and the mechanism Which is actuated by the cylinder and piston 12 and 18, is adapted to aotuate one of the spools and to advance the Web 1 by Winding the same upon that particular spool to which the piston is connected.

The spools 2 and 3 are mounted, respec- V tively, upon shafts 17 and 18 and atene end of each of said shafts is a pinion 19 which meshes with and is driven by the gear 20 (Figs 2 and Shaft 2l upon which the gear 2O is mounted is secured to a side 11 and said shaft bears a relatively large boss 22 around Which the sleeve or collar Qls Patented Dec. 114i, 1F15.

l l O adapted i@ wat@ (Figs. 9 and 1o). The sleeve 23 is perforated at 24 and the rod 25, bearing the toothed end QG, is pivoted at v27 to the collar 23, the toothed end Q6 being vThis partial revolutionV of said gear 20 will be communicated through the pinion 19 and shaft 17 to the spool 2, and it follows that each such partial revolution of the gear :2O will cause the web 1 to be fed forward because of the winding of the web upon the spool which is actuated or driven by the gear 20.

As previously stated, an air-hose or other scm-ce vof compressed air supply is connected to the nipple 16 and when compressed air is allowed to enter through said nipple, the piston 13 is forcedtoward the top. Figs. 2 and 3. and this movement of the piston 13 is translated into movement of the rod 25. The rod 25 does not move in a simple straightline. but is adapted to swing upon the'pivot 27 as an axisand to move around the shaft Q1, rst in a clockwise direction and then in a counter-clockwise direction, being adapted to lock with the ratchet QS during its counter-clockwise movement and thus advance the web 1. Said red 25 is supported only at the pivoted end. the same being the top end. Figs. 2 and i), and its other end is loose. being provided with a head30`. Rod Q5 also bears'ra boss 31. and the stirrup3) is looped over the rod 25 intermediate the head 30 and the boss 31. The stirrup 3'2 (Figs. 2 and 7) carries an eyelet i 33 bv which it is connected to one end of thev helicalspring 34. the other end of said spring beingeecuredtoan arm 35 slotted at 3G and retained by means of screws 37 to the side 11, the arm accordingly being mounted so as to permit someregulation of the tension of the helical spring 34. A lever 38 (Figs. Q and 3) is pivoted at 39, the short shaft 39 being supported between the strap 40 and the bracket 41. said strap 40, in turn. being bolted at 42 to the side 11, the side 1l. being preferably beaded at 43 to prevent any lnegthwise motion -of the. straps 40. The lelt end (Figs. '2 and 3) of the lever 38 is shown 'in the drawings as being broken away, but it may be providedl with a handle or other means' nnereby the same can be conveniently grasped. and thus permit the lever 33 to be moved from the position of Fig. 2, which s the starting position, to the position of Fig. 3 by manual operation and thus enable the annunciator to be operated independently of the compressed air. At its upper end (Fig. 7) said lever 38 bears a short shaft 44, around which shaft the boss or sleeve 45 is adapted to rotate. Said sleeve 45 is perforated at 4G, and the rod 4T passes through the perforation 4G. Said rod bears a nut 4S and the wooden ball fl-J upon one side of the rotating sleeve 45, and upon the other side bears the nuts 50 so that members 48 and 49 one on side and 50 on the other serve to secure the link 47 to the boss 45. Link 47 is pivoted at .51 (Figs. 2 and 7) to the top end of the piston rod 13 and, hence, as the piston rod 13 is forced outwardly from the cylinder or toward the top in Figs. 2 and 7. the lever 3S will be caused to rock upon the shaft 39 as an axis. and will move from the position of Fig. Q toward the position of Fig. 3. The stirrup 3Q is pivotcd at 52 to the arm or link 53 and this arm or link 53 eneircles the shaft 4l preferably intermediate the lever 38 and the boss 45. The upward reciprocaticn of the piston rod 13 is accordingly communicated by means of link 53 to the stirrup 32, which said stirrup being U-shaped and being looped over the rod 25 (Fig. 7) serves to pull the rod 25 from the position of Fig. 2 to the position of Fig. 3. ll'hen the rrd is moved from the position of Fig. '2 to the position of Fig. 3, its toothed end '2G will ride over the ratchet 23. but after the parts have moved to the position of Fig. 3. the helical spring 34 will contract and will retnrn all parts normally to starting position depicted in Fig. 2. and as the paits are thus returned because of the contraction of said spring. moving` from the position of Fig. 3 to the position of Fig. 2. the rod 25 will lock with the ratchet Q8 that is secured upon the shaft 21. and in an obvious manner will translate the countercloclnvise movement of the rod '25 and sleeve Q3 into a longitudinal advance of the exposed length of the web 1.

The operation of the parts which have just been described in detail is such that normally the tendencyY would he that each longitndinal reciprocation of the piston rod 13 will rotate the 'spools 2 or 3 exactly the same number of degrees as any other reeiprocation. but means must be provided to prevent that species of uniformity of operation, because to rotate the spool 3 when the web is only partly wound therearound, as in Fig. 8, would not advance the web the same number of inches as would resiilt from the rotation of the spool 2. in said Fig. 3. 1n other words. to rotate the spool 3, Fig. 8, when a relatively small length of the web is being carried upon that spool might advance the web say six inches, whereas to rotate the spool 2 carrying a relatively large length of the web might advance the web ten inches. ln order to secure thebest operating results, however, the web l must be advanced the same number of inches at each operation, thus making it necessary so to construct the operatingparts that the particular spool which is rotated at any time Will rotate through the proper number of degrees will vary from' time to time.

ln order to secure that necessary result and method of operation the web 1 is provided with eyelets at each edge and these eyelets are separated from each other by uniform distances. The eyelets coperating with other parts, hereinafter described in detail, predeterminedly stop the advance of the Web; and when any eyelet reaches a predetermined point, the forward feeding of the Web ceases and the particue lar sign (such as the Word State or Clark indicated on Fig. l) opposite to any particular' pair of eyelets 55 is held in exposed position. n the view of Figs. 2, 3, and S, for example, the Web is adapted to be Wound upon the spool 2, which is rotated in the clockwise direction, causing the Web to advance from bottom to top in said fig ures and is being unvvound from the spool 3, which said spool is also adapted to rotate in a clockwise direction as the web is un- Wound from said spool 3. Said spool 3 carries the ratchet 56 and coperating with said ratchet 56 is the paivl 57. By means hereinafter described in detail, the successive eyelets 55 cause the actuation of the pavvl 57 each time that one of the eyelets reaches or passes a predetermined point, and when the paivl 57 is thus actuated, it locks with the ratchet 56 and by so locking With the ratchet prevents further unwinding of the web from the spool. In other Words, the paivl 57 may stop the action of the parts prior to the time that the helical spring 34 has completely contracted and prior to the time that the rod 25 may have moved to its limit in the counterclockivise direction, which limit is reached When'the head 80 strikes the stop 58. By predeterminedly tripping the pawl 57 and carrying the same against the teeth of the ratchet 56, therefore, the feeding of the Web l is stopped Whenever the web has advanced a predetermined lineal distance and in this manner the web is, at each operation, fed forward a predetermined lineal distance regardless of the number of degrees of arc through which the spools 2 and 3 may have to rotate in order to feed the Web for that distance.

T he means for tripping the payvl 57 and causing the same predeterminedly to lock4 with the ratchet, are best shown in Figs. li, 5, 8, and ll. Extending from one side of the annnnciator to the other is a rod 59, which rod is permitted to have a slight rocking movement, and which rod, near the ends, is flattened out at 60, said flattened portions being better able to coperate with the traveling web than rounded portions would be. The paivl 57 is pivcted at 62 to the side il and pawl 57 bears a projecting ear or lug 63 to which the helical spring 6i is secured at one end, the opposite end of spring 64 being secured to the end 65 of the trigger 66, said trigger being pivoted at 67 to the side 1l. A straddle or bridge 63 is perman ently bolted at 69 to each side ll, said straddles 68 being recessed and beingl connected to a support 7l which extends downwardly from the apex of the member 66 and is secured within the side 1l. rihe flattened ends 60 of the rod 59 are slotted at 72, the post 7l being received within said slots.

As indicated in Fig. 8, the eyelets 55 are thicker than the body of the fabric l and when the parts, so far as the eyelets 55 are concerned, are in the position shown in lP 8, the flattened end 60 of the rod 59 will be pushed toward the apex of the straddle 68, but when an eyelet 55 passes between the underside of the apex of the straddle 68 and the flattened end 60, said eyelet will engage the flattened end 60 and ivill trip the rod 59 carrying the same a short distance trans verselv to the axis of said rod but parallel to the direction in which the web is moving. The trigger' 66 bears an arm 75 (Fig. 5) which extends over the edge of side 1l, and said arm 7 5, together With the trigger itself forms an l-shaped member. IThe arm 75 is recessed at 76, and to the flat part 60 is secured-a finger 77 which seats in recess 76. Vhen the evelet 55 (moving with the arrovT Fig. 5l strikes the flat blade 60, the blade 60 is forced toward and into engagement with the arm 75. This causes the trigger 66 to rock upon its pivot, the trigger pulls the paivl 57, and the paivl seats in the ratchet 56, thus locking the spool 2 or 3 against movement, and preventing further feeding of the Web l even if the spring 34.- has not contracted entirely. The post 7l is integral With the beading 7 8 which is seated in the apex of the straddle 68. llVhenever one of the eyelets 55 passes across the bar 59, therefore, said button must pass between the bead 7 8 and the flat blade 60, thus making sure that each eyelet will trip the trigger 66 and thus lock the web l against further travel after each eyelet reaches the bead 7 8. A shaft 80 extends from one side ll to the other, bearing a cam Si at each end. each cam being provided with a. toe 82. llfhen that cam 8l shown in Fig. d is rotated as designated b v the arrow, the toe 82 engages the trigger 66 and locks the same so that the pawl 57 cannot engage the ratchet 56. T he cams 8l are so fined that one trigger 66 is free to move While the other is locked. fn Fig. il, for example, the cam is so turned that the trigger can move. whereas in liig.

8 the trigger is locked and the paivl 57 reshaft 80.

tained in place beyond reach of the teeth of the ratchet 5G.

The web 1 is fed forward (i. e., toward the top or bottom of F ig. 1 as the case may be) because of the contraction of spring 31, and in order toprevent too rapid movement of the web, which would result in unnecessary-shock and jar, brakes are provided for the rollers 4 and 5. These brakes lock the rollers in place, and compel the web 1 to slide thereover, instead of permitting' tree rotation, and the'friction thus caused retards the movement of the web 1. The rollers 1 and 5 are carried upon shafts 0, and at one end of each shaft 6 is a boss or head 83 (Fig. 3) secured'by pin 811, and this boss 83 is encircled and engaged by the friction band S5. @ne end of said band is pivoted at 86 to arm 87 and theV other end is connected by pin 8S to link 89. rl`l1e arm 87 is substantially lshaped and at 90 is connected to pitman 91. The bracket 92 is secured to the side 11 by screws 93 and carries the stud 91 bv which the lever 95 is pivotally mounted. Pitman 91- is Vslotted at 96 and pin 97 upon the lever 95 lits in slot 96. Lever 95 is itself slotted at 98 and a pin 99 uponsleeve 23 seats in said slot. T he parts being` as shown in Fig. 2, and the piston rod 13 being' forced outwardly from the cylinder 1:2, the parts move as indicated by the arrows thus releasing' the clutch of the band upon the boss S3, the positions then assumed being Vshown in Fig'. 3. V1When the spring 3-/1 contracts, the parts move in the direction opposite that indicated by the arrow in Fig. .2 (except the pinionr19`; thus setting' the brake, which is normally kept tight bv spring' 100.

1n the apexrof the straddle 08 is tie beading' 7S. and the web 1 must pass between bead and the flattened end G0 of bar 59. When the eyelet passes over bar 59, the bar is depressed, and the lever 95 actuates the parts which insure the return of bar 59 to normal position. An ear 102 (Fig. 11) projects downwardlyl from tlat end and is pivoted to link 103which, in turn is connected at 1041 to a boss 105 secured upon A link 106 is slotted at 107 and 108, and slot 107 (Fig. 3.) receives the pin 110 (Fig. 11) which projects outwardly from .boss 111 which is keyed to shaft S0. Slot 10S receives the pin 112 xed to the lever 95, and as the lever 95 is reci-red in a clockwise direction (Fie. 3), therefore the link 106 will rock shaft 80 in a counterclockwise direction.` thus movingfiat end (30 against or toward the bead 78 and clamping` the web 1 in place, the parts being normally retained in that position by the spring 100.

1n 1 it will be seen that there is some space between the two streets or stations i named uponY the web. rthis space is inand to this arm the helical spring 115 is fixed. The spring` is retained at 110 in the bracket 117 and normally keeps the shaft S0 in the position shown in F ig. -1 of the drawings, movement of the shaft beyond that point being prevented by the pin 115%.

The operation of the machine is as follows: r1`he conduit or pil e which is connected to the nipple 1G is controlled by a valve (not shown) adapted to be operated by the motorinan. When the valve is open compressed air enters the cylinder 12, forces the piston 13 outwardly therefrom, rotates the sleeve E23 and the rod in a clockwise direction, carrying` the parts from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in l1`iej. 3. Then the'parts have moved to the positions of Fig'. 3, the compressed air in the cylinder will have exerted its force, whereupon the helical spring 3ft will contract and will move the sleeve Q3 and connected parts in a counter-clockwise direction, during` which movement the sleeve will be locked to the shaft 21 and the rotation of the shaft will cause the gears 19 and 20 to revolve` the rotation of the sears being' translated into lon'ritudinal feeding` of the web 1. As soon as the spring 3-1 has begun to contract and the sleeve Q3 to rotate in the counter-cloclnvise direction. the lever 93 and link 91 will also be moved bceause the pin which is secured upon the sleeve Q53 and which is received within the slot at that end of the lever 93 nearest the base 10 will rcck said lever upon its axis 91, thus p -"mittinp,- the spring; 100 to contract and tighten the friction brake. thus retarding the movement of the web 1 bv locking' the roller -tag'ainst rotation. lVhen the web is moved so far that o'ic of the eyelets strikes the fiat end G0 of the rozl 59, said rod will be moved so trat the trioger GG will be rocked upon its pivot. and the pawl 57 will be caused to seat in the ratchet 5G. thus stopping further unwindinp; of the web 1 from the spool?) and stopping that movement even befofe the springr may have entirelyT contracted. At each time that the cylinder 12 is lilled with compressed air, therefore, the web 1 will be fed forward for a distance eaual to the distance between ad- Iiacent buttons rthe web will feed forward at a fairly `apid rate since the actuatinf; force is on sp1-ine* 34, but this feeding' will be stopped each time that an evclet 55 strikes the end of the bar 59. rThe bar which is thus displaced and which is moved toward the base 10 and away from the apex of the straddle GS is returned to normal position bv the members 102 and 103. During the lil@ time that the cam S1 on one side of the annunciator locks the triggers G6 upon the same side, the pawl 57 upon that same side will lock with its ratcl et 5G and will prevent feeding' of the web in one direction. The shaft 80 with its cams S1 are rocked each time it is desired to release the pawl 57 from the ratchet Wheel to alloiv the Web to be fed so as to change the name of the street displayed. This is accomplished by pulling the lever 25 which turns the Wheel 23 and through the intermediate connecting mechanism roclzs the shaft 80. Vilhen the web has been fed through the machine the shaft S0 can be r versed and the side which was free to actuate during the first operations is locked and vice versa. lln order to retard still further movement of the device and prevent unnecessary shoch and j ar, the brake shovvn in Fig. 12 is provided. the same coinprising a head 120 carried upon the spring 121 ivhich is fastened to the side l1, the head l2() being adapted to press against the surface of the member 5P. The bar 59 remains in engagement With the eyelet last actuated until said bar is retracted by the toe S2 of the cam 8l, which lifts the trigger 6G, and nieves the paivl from engagement Withythe ratchet wheel 56, and simultaneously moves the bar 59, to release the eyelet. From this it will be noted that both the web and the ratchet are sin'mltaneously7 locked at the end of each partial movement of the web and are simultaneously released at the beginning of the nest movement,

l claim as my invention:

l. An annunciator comprising a pair of spools, a iveb adapted to be unwound from one of said spools and to be Wound upon the other, a shaft for each of said spools, a ratchet in connection with the shaft, means for cotperating ivith the ratchet thereby to rctate the spool and advance the web, pro jecting members carried by the web, a pawl adapted to be actuated when one of said members passes a predetermined point, a ratchet carried upon the spool from which the web is being unwound, said pavvl being adapted predeterminedly to cooperate with said ratchet and lock the spool Which bears said ratchet against rotation.

2. An annunciator comprising a pair of spools, a iveb adapted to beunwound from one and to be ivound upon the other, a shaft for one of said spools, a ratchet upon said shaft, a sleeve encircling` the ratchet, a paivl carried by said sleeve and adapted to co operate ivith the ratchet, a stirrup looped over said pa \vl.v and means for reciprocating the stirrup thereby to actuate the paivl.

3. An annunciator comprising a pair of spools, a web adapted to be unwound from one of said spools and to be Wound upon the other, a shaft for each of said spools, n eans adapted intermittently to rotate one of said shafts and thereby advance the Web,

tripping members carried upon the web, a paivl, a ratchet engaged by said paivl and connected with the spool from which the web vis beingunivound, said pavvl being adapted predeterminedly to cooperate with said ratchet, and lock one of the spools against rotation, a bar having liattenecL ends over which the Web passes, said flattened ends being adapted to be engaged by said projections, and means adapted to translate the movement of said bar into movement of said pavvl, an Lshaped trigger adapted to be engaged and actuated by said bar, and means connecting said trigger to said pawl.

4. An annunciator comprising a pair of spools, a vveb adapted to be ivound upon one and nnivound from the other, a shaft for one of each of said spools, a ratchet in connection With said shaft, a sleeve encircling the ratchet, a pawl pivoted to said sleeve and adapted to cooperate with the ratchet, said pawl extending out vardly beyond said sleeve, means controlled by the operator for rotating said sleeve and said paivl in one direction and including a stirrup looped over said pand, and a spring adapted to move said sleeve and said paivl in a return direction.

5. An annunciator comprising a pair of spools, a vveb adapted to be univound from one and to beivound upon the other, a shaft for one of said spools, a ratchet upon said shaft, a sleeve encircling the ratchet, a pawl carried by said sleeve and adapted to cooperate nfith the ratchet, a stirrup looped over said pawl, and compressed air means for recipro ating the stirrnp.

6. An annunciator comprising a pair of spools, a web adapted to be univound from one of said spools and to be Wound upon the other, a shaft for each of said spools, i cans adapted to intermittently rctate one of said shafts and thereby advance the web, tripping` members, a pavvl, a ratchet engaged by said pawl and connected with the spoel from which the web is being univound, said paivl being adapted to loch said last named spools against rotation, a bar over vvhich the vveb passes, an l shaped trigger adapted to be engaged and actuated by said bar, and means connecting said trigger to said pawl.

ln testimony whereof ive hereunto ai'lin our signatures in the presence of two \vitnesses. y

DLBERT SClclh/ILZ. ALBAN SCHMLZ. Vitnesses t Boer. KLoTz, dos. Maine.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

